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How to buy the best British meat
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How to buy the best British meat

  • By The Co-operative Food
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Good quality meat is imperative for good quality cooking but with sourcing scandals constantly hitting the headlines how do we make sure we’re getting the best? Why is provenance important? And what do all those labels actually mean?

Roast lamb

Why should we buy British?

UK farming offers some of the best farm assurance standards in the world. All our British suppliers are independently audited and accredited to one of the National Farm Assurance schemes controlled by Assured Food Standards, which allow the meat to display the Red Tractor logo.

Not all countries have schemes like this but where we sell or use meat from foreign suppliers we insist that they meet equivalent standards.

What about all the other labels? Sometimes it's hard to know what means what...

Red tractor badge
Red Tractor is a food assurance scheme covering food safety, hygiene, welfare and the environment. The Red Tractor logo means that a product or ingredient has met agreed production standards and is fully traceable back to independently inspected UK farms.

 

 

Freedom food badge
The Freedom Food label indicates that animals have come from systems that meet RSPCA welfare standards. This covers the whole of an animal’s life, not just their time on a farm. Freedom Food approves indoor farms as well as free range and organic.  

 

 

EU flag and Soil association
On meat, the organic logo means that animals are free range. It also assures that living conditions, food quality, the use of antibiotics and hormones, as well as how food and animals are transported and the way animals are slaughtered, meet expected standards. The green leaf logo is the EU organic logo, and the black and white badge is the Soil Association organic logo.


EU badges
These are European Union schemes known as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), and Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG). The EU Protected Food Name scheme highlights regional and traditional foods whose authenticity and origin can be guaranteed.

 

Pork, beef and lamb
These are equivalent to the Red Tractor scheme but also cover production and eating quality of the final meat product.

 

 

 

Scotch beef
This is another farm assurance scheme that guarantees the beef (there is also a Scotch lamb) comes from Scotland. Both these schemes are also Protected Geographical Indications (PGIs), meaning they are 100% traceable back to Scottish farms. 

 

 

Mince mapWhere does Co-op’s British meat come from?

We develop direct long term relationships with a group of known, dedicated farmers on all of our standard pork and chicken and premium beef and lamb, to deliver a transparent supply chain built on honesty, fairness and trust. These Co-operative Farming Groups are made up of around 850 carefully selected farmers who grow and rear The Co-op’s fresh meat with passion, and to high standards. They offer visibility to the supply chain for customers and members.

Sheep farmAre customers concerned about the UK farming industry?

In a survey commissioned by The Co-operative earlier this year, 72% said it was very important that the UK has a sustainable farming industry, with 22% saying it was quite important. Our customers and members also look to us for clarity when it comes to where our meat comes from so they know they can trust our products. Animal welfare, protecting the environment and fairness in the supply chain are also really important to them.

Visit the Co-op hub page for more expert guides and behind-the-scenes videos…

Comments, questions and tips

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  • Comments (11)
  • Questions (0)
  • Tips (0)
BritWales
11th Mar, 2015
Why do so many Recipes for British Meat involve the result being blood pink, blood red and the core even appearing raw, uncooked ? Marketing images of the meats are presented the same.
terrier78
9th Apr, 2015
Generally, because you get better flavour & texture with meat if it's cooked a little rarer. Plus, it looks more appetising (to me anyway). I wouldn't do it with pork or poultry, but with beef, lamb or venison - why not? Try it, and if you don't like it, cook it a bit more. Personally, I like beef sirloin to be blue, but lamb & venison I prefer medium.
TheDarking's picture
TheDarking
8th Sep, 2014
"Animal welfare, protecting the environment and fairness in the supply chain" - so why is 15% of your Halal meat from unstunned animals - Label halal and other religious meat, give the British people a choice of buying clean/safe and slaughtered by UK regulations meats.
terrier78
9th Apr, 2015
You HAVE got a choice. Get your meat from a local independent butcher & ask about the welfare of the animals. ;) BTW - if you're concerned about the welfare of the animals who go to make your meat, there are far bigger issues than halal slaughter to worry about.
TheDarking's picture
TheDarking
7th Sep, 2014
have you forgotten the 'Halal' symbol - Some of us NON-muslims would like to have the choice of not buying a meat/poultry which came from an UN-Stunned animal ( 15% of halal in UK is unstunned) and blessed by a islamic cleric who see nothing wrong with under-age marriage/paedophilia as it part of their religion (Quran/Muhammed and stats of Women's charity fighting under-age marriages). No point in only having some symbols, we need to know what isn't clean/safe to eat...
terrier78
9th Apr, 2015
You HAVE got a choice. Get your meat from a local independent butcher & ask about the welfare of the animals. ;) BTW - if you're concerned about the welfare of the animals who go to make your meat, there are far bigger issues than halal slaughter to worry about. BTW - with your islamophobic rhetoric you're just making yourself look ignorant.
Leo44
10th Sep, 2014
I agree 100%. When are non-muslim consumers going to be given informed choice about the meat we buy? We don't want to subsidise muslim charities by buying unlabelled halal-produced meat. We know about Halal Certification and how it is used. We don't care if it is blessed/unblessed, stunned/unstunned - we don't want it. And BTW we know that the stunning that is talked about in halal meat production is only a minimal stun not a full one - if meat is properly stunned it isn't halal. Stop trying to pull the wool over Joe Public's eyes - we aren't fooled.
terrier78
9th Apr, 2015
You HAVE got a choice. Get your meat from a local independent butcher & ask about the welfare of the animals. ;) BTW - if you're concerned about the welfare of the animals who go to make your meat, there are far bigger issues than halal slaughter to worry about.
Pete114
6th Apr, 2017
You keep harping on about far bigger issues, so come on enlighten us. You call us ignorant for a genuine concern about matters we worry about.
frytime20
20th Feb, 2015
I also do not want halal meat it must be labeled what it is

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